No. 25 Cornell Holds Off Yale 90-71

Reggie Willhite. (photo by Sam Rubin '95, Yale Sports Publicity)

Feb 05, 2010

Alex Zampier Pacers Bulldogs With 11 Points

ITHACA, N.Y. - Earlier this week, Cornell earned its first
national ranking in nearly 60 years. It appears the Big Red plan on
staying in the poll for awhile. Jon Jaques scored 17 points to lead
four players in double figures as No. 25 Cornell topped Yale 90-71
before a boisterous crowd of 4,255 at Newman Arena. Alex Zampier
paced the Bulldogs with 11 points.

The difference in the game was three-point shooting. The Big Red
shot 48.1 percent (13-of-27) from beyond the arc, while Yale made
just 3-of-16 three-pointers.

"We didn't do a good job guarding the perimeter," said James
Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Men's
Basketball. "They had way too many easy shots."

Jaques and Ryan Wittman (15 points) were the main culprits. Both
made four three-pointers, while Louis Dale (15 points, 4 assists)
added three. And when the Big Red wasn't shooting from the outside,
7-foot center Jeff Foote was doing damage in the paint. He made
7-of-11 shots and finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Cornell (19-3, 5-0 Ivy) has won 17 of its last 18 games. The Big
Red has yet to trail in its first five Ivy games.

Cornell scored the first five points of the game and led 23-12
midway through the first half. The lead grew to 14 before the
Bulldogs made a run. Morgan's three-pointer pulled Yale within
four, 35-31, with 2:58 remaining, but the Big Red hit three
consecutive three-pointers and led 46-34 at halftime.

The Bulldogs never got closer than 10 in the second half,
despite shooting 55 percent (11-of-20) from the field.

Dale scored 13 of his points in the second half.

The Bulldogs play at Columbia on Saturday. Tipoff at Levien Gym
is slated for 7 p.m.

NOTES: Zampier is now 11 points shy of 1,000 in his career. He
was 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the game. Zampier was not
credited with a steal and still needs one to break Daniel Okonkwo's
school record. Yale committed only 11 turnovers, four below its
average, but they led to 20 Cornell points. The Big Red had only
five turnovers. Jordan Gibson and Paul Nelson were both re-inserted
into the starting lineup.